Development Log: The Vortex #5 - Sample Cards

For clarity when reading my development logs, it's of course a much better idea to see what the cards look like than just reading the instructions.  So here you can see a variety of cards and a sample of what they do:

These four cards are Devotee cards, colored differently for each player.  Some are plain vanilla cards, like Guardians, while others have additional rules.  As I playtest, I will discover a good, terse language that is easy to understand and offers little room for confusion.

The four stats in the middle of each card are, from left to right:  Reason, Fire/Fear, Repulsion, and Attack.  All of those little symbols are Rikchiks, snagged from http://www.suberic.net/~dmm/rikchik/language/dictionary.html.  They will be eventually changed to custom art when I need to.

The Frenzy has these same stats, but modifies them.  So if the Love potion were attached to Guardians, Guardians would then have stats of 1/0/2/1 when faced against Devotees, and 1/0/6/1 against Zealots.

The only stat on the Rogation shows how many Devotees/Zealots the Player must have in Play in order to Play the card.  (That's too many Plays, I'll have to think about wording with that).  So in order to Play Resurrection, the Player must have 3 Devotees/Zealots in Play.

The final card is the Vortex card, which has its own separate pile, which is why I decided to flip it sideways to indicate clearly that it does not go in your hand.  Vortexes show who goes first during the Rogation and Crusade phases (from left to right), and explain any additional rules for that round.

That is all of the types of cards I have currently.  Hopefully reading the instructions now makes more sense.

Development Log: The Vortex #4 - Rogation Changes

When playing The Vortex with four players, the complexity increases dramatically.  It becomes difficult to pay attention to Rogations, memorizing which players are affected, especially after the number of Devotees/Zealots in the field may change before the Rogation is brought into effect.

To simplify Rogations, I have eliminated the requirement of a minimum for opponents, as well as altered some Rogations that were not useful.  For instance, previously there was a Rogation called "Sacrifice" that forced the player to kill one of their own Zealots to reverse the turn order during the Crusade phase.  Its usefulness was so limited and its requirements to play were so strict that it was usually a waste of a card in hand.  I have since changed the card to "Rally" which does not require killing a Zealot, and it becomes doubly easier to play by changing the general rule about Rogations.

One of the great things about the Rogation rule change is that the instructions have shrunk dramatically, since the Rogations are now much easier to understand without too much detail.  The altered instructions are as follows:

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Vortex
A card game for 2-4 Players.

Decks:  24 Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow cards, 48 Vortex Cards, 48 Rogations, and 50 Frenzies.

Goal:  Convert more Devotees into True Converts and/or Fearful than your opponent(s).  You score one point for each True Convert and Fearful Convert you have at the end of the game.  If you are the Red player, you also get an additional 1/2 point for every dead Devotee (a Devotee in the Vortex) of another color.

Pile Setup:  Each Player has a face-down pile called the Draw Pile.  Each Player also has a face-up pile called the Discard Pile, which they shuffle and place face-down to create a new Draw Pile when their Draw Pile runs out.  Each Player also has a face-up pile called the Fearful Pile.

The Vortex cards also have piles of their own.  Unused Vortex cards are placed face-down in one pile, and as each is revealed it gets discarded in a separate face-up pile.  There is also a pile for killed Devotees/Zealots with attached Frenzies, and used Rogations.  When cards are placed in this pile, it is known as "going to the Vortex" or "being sent to the Vortex."  You may choose to separate by type as well, for easier sorting later.

Game Setup:  Randomly select 24 Vortex cards and place them facedown.  This is the Vortex Deck.  Put the unused Vortex cards away.  Each player is given all 24 cards of one Devotee color, then is randomly dealt 12 Frenzies and 12 Rogations.  Put the unused Frenzies and Rogations away.  Each Player shuffles their deck, places it facedown, then draws seven cards from their deck.  Each Player selects 1 or 2 Devotees to put into play immediately (place face-up on the table), then redraw to a full seven cards.  If a Player has no Devotees in their first hand, they may reshuffle and try again.

Play begins.  Each round, the following occurs:

1.) A Vortex card is revealed.
2.) Players perform Rogations.
3.) Players Frenzy their Devotees.
4.) Players Crusade to Convert or Attack.
5.) Players add Reinforcements.
6.) Players Refill their hands.

Step 1. THE VORTEX

Flip over a new Vortex card. The Vortex card tells the players the turn order for the round, as well as supplies any additional rules that are in play during that round.

If there are no more Vortex cards to draw, the game ends.  Players count up the number of Fearful in their Fearful pile and True Converts in their deck.  Whoever has the highest total wins.

Suggestion for beginners:  When playing with more than two players, use only the Vortex cards that don't have special rules.

Step 2. ROGATIONS

Each Player may play 1 Rogation and follow the rules explained on the card.  Players play Rogations according to turn order.

Rogations require a minimum number of Devotees/Zealots to be in your Field of Play to use.  Sometimes there is a straightforward minimum number, other times you must simply have more or less than all of your opponents (individually).

If 2 or more Rogations are played that contradict each other, the first played takes precedence.  For instance, if the first Player plays Bacchanalia, and the next player plays a Burial Rites, the first Player may still play his normal number of Frenzies +1, and all other players must skip their Frenzy phase.  When Rogations contradict Vortex cards, Vortex cards take precendence.  However, a player may sacrifice 1 Devotee/Zealot in hand/play to the Vortex to override the Vortex's rule and allow the contradicting Rogation to take precendence.

After use or completion, Rogations are sent to the Vortex.

Step 3. FRENZY

Each Player may place 1 Frenzy card face-down near 1 of their Devotees in play, OR replace an unrevealed Frenzy, OR discard a revealed Frenzy.  All Players do this simultaneously.  A Frenzied Devotee is called a Zealot.

Players can also bluff by placing Rogation cards or Devotee cards down instead.  These cards, when revealed, are sent to the Vortex if the Zealot is killed; otherwise, they go to the Player's discard pile.  A Zealot may only have 1 Frenzy at a time unless otherwise specified.  However, once a Frenzy has been revealed, it may not be replaced unless it has been previously discarded.

A 'Devotee' with a card face-down near it, even a bluff, is still considered a Zealot.  A Zealot with it's bluff revealed is also still considered a Zealot.

Step 4. CRUSADE

Each Player may attempt to Convert or Kill an Opponent's Devotee/Zealot.  Players Crusade according to turn order.

To Crusade, the Offensive Player uses 1 of their Devotees/Zealots in Play to encounter any Opponent's Devotee/Zealot.  The Offense declares which of their own Devotees/Zealots they will use, which Opponents' Devotee/Zealot they are encountering, and whether they will attempt to Convert by Reason or Fire, or attempt to Kill the Opponent's Devotee/Zealot.  After the declaration, any unrevealed Frenzy cards on all engaged cards are revealed and remain in Play.

If Converting by Reason, the Players compare their Reason attribute.  If 1 is higher than the other, but less than 3 more (5-3 works, 5-2 does not), the lower's Devotee/Zealot has been Converted, and the winner takes the card and puts in in their discard pile.  The winner's new card is a True Convert.  Otherwise, both cards remain in Play.

If Converting by Fire, the Offense compares its Fire stat with the Opponent's Repulsion stat.  If the Fire stat is greater than the Repulsion stat, but less than 3 more (5-3 works, 5-2 does not), the Offense wins.  The Offense claims the Convert, but the Convert does NOT go in the Offense's discard pile; instead, it goes into a separate Fearful Pile.  If the Fire stat is more than 3 higher, the Defensive card is killed, and is sent to the Vortex.  If the Defensive card's Repulsion is equal to or greater than the Offense's Fire stat, then the Defender may either draw up to 2 cards, or immediately put a reinforcement into play (they may not go beyond the maximum or 5 cards in Play).

If the Player chooses to Kill the Opponent's Devotee/Zealot, Attack stats are compared.  If equal, both Devotees/Zealots are Killed, and go to the Vortex.  Otherwise, the higher Attack wins, and loser goes to the Vortex.

Frenzy cards attached to Converted Zealots go back in the original Player's discard pile.  Frenzy cards attached to killed Zealots go into the Vortex with the dead Zealot.

Step 5. REINFORCE

Each Player may place 1 or 2 Devotees face-up onto the Field of Play.  All Players do this simultaneously. Players have a maximum of 5 Devotees/Zealots in Play at one time, so if a Player is maxed out, they cannot Reinforce.  If they wish, the player may take 1 or 2 Devotees/Zealots out of play, and put into their discard pile, with any attached Frenzies.  Players may ONLY take cards out of play if they are maxed out.

Step 6. REFILL

All Players draw cards from their deck until they have 7 cards in hand. All Players Refill simultaneously.  If a Player already has 7 or more cards in hand, they may not refill.

If a Player wishes to discard cards, the Player may discard any number of cards in hand.  However, if they do so, the Player may NOT refill their hand this turn.

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As you can see, the Rogation section is much smaller and simplified, without even the need for examples.

I have also added the "Beginner's Suggestion" to use non-rule-bending Vortex cards to prevent too much complication, which I will be taking when dealing with new players.  I'll see if it simplifies the game enough for new players to get a grip on the mechanics, or if another cut needs to be made, such as eliminating Rogations completely for first time players (although I think that might simplify the game too much).

I also found that the Red player tended to always lose, by a LOT.  So I considered that since Red's best stat is usually Attack, that red should also get a bonus for dead Devotees, and the numbers became much closer.

This shouldn't drastically change strategy, as far as I can tell, but that remains to be seen.

Deconstruction: DOOM - Part IV: Story

Lest I be thought a fanboy, DOOM must have its flaws exposed.  Some lessons are best learned from failure than from success.

Although, this part will be short, because there is so little to say on the subject of DOOM's story, mostly because there hardly is one at all:

DOOM does not have a strong story.  Including Thy Flesh Consumed, there are five places where story can be found in DOOM:  at the end of each of the four episodes, and in the manual.  Each in-game story sequence is no more than a screen of text and a picture -- the latter of which isn't even in the first episode.

If you didn't bother to read the story in the manual, you didn't know what the point of the game was, and rarely did the level design make enough sense to enhance or even allude to the story.  The occasional UAC crate meant nothing to a player who didn't already know about the UAC from the manual.

And in multiplayer, of course, the story is non-existent anyway.

But the fault of DOOM isn't that it didn't have enough story, since plenty of other more successful games have had less; it's that it didn't utilize what it had.  As discussed before, the motif of DOOM was plastered in every nook and cranny of the levels, but the plot was entirely missing.

DOOM:  The story of a man who battles demons, then kills a cute fluffy bunny.

The map screen between levels showing your progress was the closest thing to intriguing modern storytelling that DOOM offers.  It shows you your progress in a satisfying way:  a big blood-splatter bullet hole on every building you've passed through showed you what you'd accomplished and how far you still had to go.  If you watched closely in The Shores of Hell, you even got to see the Tower of Babel being built.

The problem with the map screen was that it was inconsistent with the actual level design.  Now, DOOM has some of the most fantastic level design both for its time and today, and thankfully id decided not to cater the level design to the story.  But the reverse could have happened:  a simple change on the map screen would have helped tie the story and gameplay together.  All that was needed was drawing the buildings to the approximate shape of the levels.

Of course, DOOM was made in an era where story and gameplay were segregated completely.  Did you know there is an actual plot to Super Mario Bros. besides rescuing the Princess?  Read the instructions and you will be horrified!

Well, DOOM wasn't a trendsetter in every regard.  Thankfully other games came along that mixed story and gameplay together, even in the FPS genre.

In a game like DOOM, story isn't the most important thing, but they could have raised the importance, or at least the cohesion between story and gameplay, with small changes.

Read Part V: Pickups

Development Log: The Vortex #3 - The Rules

For the sake of the reader not being thoroughly lost by my logs, I figured it would help to post the rules.  They are prone to change, of course, as needed.

Also, in later development logs I will be posting screenshots of cards.  Otherwise the rules still don't make much sense.

But for now, the rules:

Vortex
A card game for 2-4 Players.

Decks:  24 Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow cards, 48 Vortex Cards, 48 Rogations, and 50 Frenzies.

Goal:  Convert more Devotees into True Converts and/or Fearful than your opponent(s).

Pile Setup:  Each Player has a face-down pile called the Draw Pile.  Each Player also has a face-up pile called the Discard Pile, which they shuffle and place face-down to create a new Draw Pile when their Draw Pile runs out.  Each Player also has a face-up pile called the Fearful Pile.

The Vortex cards also have piles of their own.  Unused Vortex cards are placed face-down in one pile, and as each is revealed it gets discarded in a separate face-up pile.  There is also a pile for killed Devotees/Zealots with attached Frenzies, and used Rogations.  When cards are placed in this pile, it is known as "going to the Vortex" or "being sent to the Vortex."

Game Setup:  Randomly select 24 Vortex cards and place them facedown.  This is the Vortex Deck.  Put the unused Vortex cards away.  Each player is given all 24 cards of one Devotee color, then is randomly dealt 12 Frenzies and 12 Rogations.  Put the unused Frenzies and Rogations away.  Each Player shuffles their deck, places it facedown, then draws seven cards from their deck.  Each Player selects 1 or 2 Devotees to put into play immediately (place face-up on the table), then redraw to a full seven cards.  If a Player has no Devotees in their first hand, they may reshuffle and try again.

Play begins.  Each round, the following occurs:

1.) A Vortex card is revealed.
2.) Players perform Rogations.
3.) Players Frenzy their Devotees.
4.) Players Crusade to Convert or Attack.
5.) Players add Reinforcements.
6.) Players Refill their hands.

Step 1. THE VORTEX

Flip over a new Vortex card. The Vortex card tells the players the turn order for the round, as well as supplies any additional rules that are in play during that round.

If there are no more Vortex cards to draw, the game ends.  Players count up the number of Fearful in their Fearful pile and True Converts in their deck.  Whoever has the highest total wins.

Step 2. ROGATIONS

Each Player may play 1 Rogation and follow the rules explained on the card.  Players play Rogations according to turn order.

Rogations require a minimum number of Devotees/Zealots to be in play to use, both on your side AND the opponents' side.  With more than 2 players, Rogations targeting Opponents only occur to those Opponents who meet the minimum; if the Rogation targets the User, ALL Players must fulfill the minimum for the User to be affected.

Examples:

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CHARITY:

Your minimum: 1
Opponents' minimum: 2
Affects: Everyone Individually

You must have at least 1 Devotee/Zealot in the Field of Play to use this Rogation.  In order for an Opponent to be affected by this Rogation, they must have at least 2 Devotees/Zealots in Play.
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SACRIFICE:

Your min: 2
Opponents' min: >
Affects: Everyone Wholly

You must have at least 2 Devotees/Zealots in the Field of Play to use this Rogation.  Every Opponent must have more Devotees/Zealots in Play (not more than 2, but more than you ACTUALLY have in Play!) in order for this to be effective.
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GOODWILL

Your min: 1
Opponents' min: =
Affects: Everyone Individually

You must have at least 1 Devotee/Zealot in the Field of Play to use this Rogation.  In order for an Opponent to be affected by this ROgation, they must have at least as many Devotees/Zealots in play as you (not exactly 1 or more than one, and not exactly as many, but AT LEAST as many as you ACTUALLY have in Play).
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BACCHANALIA

You min: 4
Opponents' "min": <
Affects: You

You must have at least 4 Devotees/Zealots in the Field of Play to use this Rogation.  To work, EVERY Opponent must have fewer Devotees/Zealots in Play than you do (not less than 4, but less than you ACTUALLY have).  This is an exception to the common "minimum" rule, where here there is a maximum that opponents must stay under.
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If 2 or more Rogations are played that contradict each other, the first played takes precedence.  For instance, if the first Player plays Bacchanalia, and the next player plays a Burial Rites, the first Player may still play his normal number of Frenzies +1, and all other players must skip their Frenzy phase.  When Rogations contradict Vortex cards, Vortex cards take precendence.  However, a player may sacrifice 1 Devotee/Zealot in hand/play to the Vortex to override the Vortex's rule and allow the contradicting Rogation to take precendence.

After use or completion, Rogations are sent to the Vortex.

Step 3. FRENZY

Each Player may place 1 Frenzy card face-down near 1 of their Devotees in play, OR replace an unrevealed Frenzy, OR discard a revealed Frenzy.  All Players do this simultaneously.  A Frenzied Devotee is called a Zealot.

Players can also bluff by placing Rogation cards or Devotee cards down instead.  These cards, when revealed, are sent to the Vortex if the Zealot is killed; otherwise, they go to the Player's discard pile.  A Zealot may only have 1 Frenzy at a time unless otherwise specified.  However, once a Frenzy has been revealed, it may not be replaced unless it has been previously discarded.

A 'Devotee' with a card face-down near it, even a bluff, is still considered a Zealot.  A Zealot with it's bluff revealed is also still considered a Zealot.

Step 4. CRUSADE

Each Player may attempt to Convert or Kill an Opponent's Devotee/Zealot.  Players Crusade according to turn order.

To Crusade, the Offensive Player uses 1 of their Devotees/Zealots in Play to encounter any Opponent's Devotee/Zealot.  The Offense declares which of their own Devotees/Zealots they will use, which Opponents' Devotee/Zealot they are encountering, and whether they will attempt to Convert by Reason or Fire, or attempt to Kill the Opponent's Devotee/Zealot.  After the declaration, any unrevealed Frenzy cards on all engaged cards are revealed and remain in Play.

If Converting by Reason, the Players compare their Reason attribute.  If 1 is higher than the other, but less than 3 more (5-3 works, 5-2 does not), the lower's Devotee/Zealot has been Converted, and the winner takes the card and puts in in their discard pile.  The winner's new card is a True Convert.  Otherwise, both cards remain in Play.

If Converting by Fire, the Offense compares its Fire stat with the Opponent's Repulsion stat.  If the Fire stat is greater than the Repulsion stat, but less than 3 more (5-3 works, 5-2 does not), the Offense wins.  The Offense claims the Convert, but the Convert does NOT go in the Offense's discard pile; instead, it goes into a separate Fearful Pile.  If the Fire stat is more than 3 higher, the Defensive card is killed, and is sent to the Vortex.  If the Defensive card's Repulsion is equal to or greater than the Offense's Fire stat, then the Defender may either draw up to 2 cards, or immediately put a reinforcement into play (they may not go beyond the maximum or 5 cards in Play).

If the Player chooses to Kill the Opponent's Devotee/Zealot, Attack stats are compared.  If equal, both Devotees/Zealots are Killed, and go to the Vortex.  Otherwise, the higher Attack wins, and loser goes to the Vortex.

Frenzy cards attached to Converted Zealots go back in the original Player's discard pile.  Frenzy cards attached to killed Zealots go into the Vortex with the dead Zealot.

Step 5. REINFORCE

Each Player may place 1 or 2 Devotees face-up onto the Field of Play.  All Players do this simultaneously. Players have a maximum of 5 Devotees/Zealots in Play at one time, so if a Player is maxed out, they cannot Reinforce.  If they wish, the player may take 1 or 2 Devotees/Zealots out of play, and put into their discard pile, with any attached Frenzies.  Players may ONLY take cards out of play if they are maxed out.

Step 6. REFILL

All Players draw cards from their deck until they have 7 cards in hand. All Players Refill simultaneously.  If a Player already has 7 or more cards in hand, they do not refill.

If a Player wishes to discard cards, the Player may discard any number of cards in hand.  However, if they do so, the Player may NOT refill their hand this turn.

Deconstruction: DOOM - Part III: Weapons

Now it's time to start getting into the nitty-gritty.

The weapon system in DOOM is stupidly basic compared to modern FPSs.  You have all of eight weapons, three of which are basically upgrades in one form or another, and one is a gimmick (the BFG 9000).  So of all of these, we have essentially only four real weapons or weapon groups: fist/chainsaw, pistol/chaingun/plasma rifle, shotgun, and rocket launcher.

If exterminators used these, spiders would not exist.

But with such a small collection, it forces the player to be more creative with their battle strategies.

When you have a game with a weapon for each scenario, all the player has to do is figure out which weapon is ideal and use it.  It comes down to a game of "What did the game designer want me to use?"

But by limiting choices, the player has to learn to make do.  Sometimes there is no perfect weapon, and the player can use whatever they are more comfortable with.  Or a player may even have to use an uncomfortable weapon because their favorite is out of ammo.  It brings a whole new level of strategy to a game which would otherwise be a simple run n' gun.

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Tangent:

I have found in many modern FPSs that there is way too much cover-based shooting and way too many chest-high walls.  I think it's because it's one solution to a problem that arises when a player has too many guns.  When you can glance at a situation and instantly know what to use, it seems a designer's only fix is to keep you from shooting too often or too accurately.

But gamers are getting bored of this.

A better solution is to take a look back at the classics like DOOM for inspiration.  Oftentimes the complain "This is no fun" is answered with "Give him a bigger gun!"  A better answer is "Take his gun away!"

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Oddly enough, this lesson is found at the beginning of FPSs when you have few weapons to start with.  If having every weapon was the fun part, you'd get them all from the beginning.

Not pictured:  fun.

But getting a new weapon should act only as a reward for hard work.  Have too many, and the reward lessens in value.

Consider where the weapons are placed in Knee Deep in the Dead:

In the first level, the shotgun is hidden.  In the second level, the chainsaw and the chaingun are hidden.  In the third level, the rocket launcher is hidden.  If you missed any, they are hidden throughout later levels, too, and only when it is deemed necessary (when the challenge is too unfair) are you given these weapons in plain sight.

If you took the time to explore, you feel satisfaction at the reward.  If you did not, you find the weapons later and feel they are not just a necessity, but also a reward for getting through the previous levels.  Either way, they are a welcome addition and don't feel like just another toy to play with in your arsenal.

One of the most common lessons learned from classic games is one which many modern games have forgotten, but it bears repeating:

When it comes to mechanics, simplicity is king.

Read Part IV: Story

Development Log: The Vortex #2

After finally getting to test out the game, a few unforeseen bugs popped out of the woodwork, as well as a couple that I suspected.

A known bug was that some of my stat comparisons relied on multiplication/division, and since some of those stats could be zero, it could mess everything up.

Basically when you compare two numbers, you see not just which one is higher, but by how much as well.  If it's too high, you don't get what you want.  Originally I had it as "If one number is more than twice as high as the other", and this made it so the player is untouchable if one of the stats gets altered down to zero.

I'd been trying to decide if I should go the multiplication route or just have it be "If one number is more than three higher", which would make a more linear curve, which I am disappointed about, but which would fix the zero bug without having to force a "minimum of 1" in any statistic.

So in any case, next time I try it out I'll be using a simpler comparison, and see how the game plays out.

One unknown bug was that the player who goes first always wins... by a TON.  The first player immediately has a huge advantage because they can strike first and clean house on the battlefield before the second player has a chance.

However, I've only played a two-player game so far, but I designed the game to go up to four.  I think the problem solves itself in a three and four player game, but to fix a two-player game, I'll have to add a caveat that allows players to start with more Devotees (basically "soldier" cards) on the Field at the beginning of the game, or to change the order of the phases to allow Players to Frenzy their Devotees (change their stats with a hidden card) before Crusading (trying to convert the Opponent's cards).

For now I think I will switch the order of the phases.  I thought originally that the order I had made each round feel more fluid and run one into the next, instead of feeling like separate turns (you do "battle" at the beginning of the round, and regroup and call in reinforcements afterwards, to prepare for the next round), but for the sake of balance, I'll switch them around.

Another bug that I didn't even consider is that, since I have four different types of cards, I should write the card type somewhere on the card.  Right now they are color-coded, and I think players who are used to the game will be able to distinguish the card types, but for new players who are still getting used to the language of the game, the card type should be printed somewhere on the cards.

I think I may have overlooked that detail because such an indicator was forgotten when I was still toying with the idea of making the game cryptic.

One more half-suspicious bug is that I had way too many Frenzy cards.  Frenzy cards allow players to change the stats of their Devotees, initially keeping the card hidden.  Each Players deck had an equal number of Devotees and Frenzies, and I realized that that ended up being waaaay too many Frenzies.  I've cut the number in half, and I think the game has already been significantly changed.

Before that, a player would find himself with a hand full of useless Frenzies when he had no Devotees on the Field.  Cutting Frenzies in half not only solves this problem, but it also helped cut out duplicates (I could only come up with 25 Frenzies, so I printed out four copies of each, and now there are only two copies of each in the game).

After a few more playthroughs, I will discover truly if some players naturally have the advantage over others (I suspected from the beginning that the Player who plays the Green card set will always come out on top), and then I can balance test those.

The bigger issue, of course, is to find any more game-breaking bugs.

Development Log: The Vortex #1

The idea for The Vortex first came to me a couple of months ago, just before graduation.

My initial thought was that I wanted to create a collectible card game with the gimmick of being very difficult to understand.  Each card would only have flavor text, which would be a puzzle hiding the statistics and other rules behind the card, and even the basic rules themselves would be hidden behind what appeared to be a history of the universe the game takes place in.

I also wanted the rules to be weird; they would be unlike any other card game out there.

You would have to play for keeps, because the mechanics allowed you to take an opponent's cards and use them as your own in one sitting, and since separating them would be a chore, it could only mean that only hardcore players -- players that had to be smart enough to figure out the rules in the first place, and players that believed themselves skilled enough not to lose too many cards, and players humble enough to accept the loss of cards -- would play.

It would be a novelty more than anything else.  People wouldn't play as much as they would simply buy booster packs and try to figure out the rules.  The barrier of entry would be high, but its mysteriousness would entice people anyway.

This idea was scrapped, first as a collectable card game, then the hidden rules.

A friend of mine and avid non-digital game player advised me that such an idea would only work as a one-shot game -- a single, self-contained game like any other traditional board game or card game, rather than a collectible card game -- because the novelty of hidden rules could not last long enough for people to want to buy more cards to a game they don't know how to play.

So I whittled down the idea to a one-shot game, which turned out to be alright by me because there are far fewer cards to manage!  This also meant that there was no such thing as "playing for keeps" because whoever owned the game would just put the cards away when they were done.

After that, I started coming up with a variety of interesting mechanics that mixed and matched games like Magic:  The Gathering and A Game of Thrones.  As I made them, the proud game developer in me thought "Why come up with such great mechanics when no one will ever figure out how to play?"  So I scrapped the hidden rules part.

Remnants of the hidden nature still remain, but I have at least typed up a straightforward set of rules and the cards say exactly what they should.

I have still kept the aspect of the game where one player's cards end up in another player's hand, and I color-coded each player's cards so you feel the sting of knowing your own card is being used against you.

The very objective of the game became, in essence, "Take as many of your opponents' cards as possible."  When the game ends, players count up the number of cards that they have that are not their own color, and the player with the most wins.

As the mechanics developed, I realized this could not be a battle-themed game, like Magic, otherwise cards would "die" instead of being shifted around.  It could have more the language of chess, where pieces are "captured", but even then, narratively-speaking, why would a card fight for a foe?

Then it struck me to make the game have a religious theme, where you are trying to "convert" as many of your opponents' cards to your religion as you can.

I had already decided to have the game's art and feel have a macabre, quasi-sci-fi feel to it like an even darker Cosmic Encounter.  Putting a sectarian spin on it would make it all the more morbid, complete with murder, crusades, conversions, rogations, resurrections, torture, and the like.

Instead of battling, the major event every turn would be a Crusade, which brings an uncivilized, medieval flare to an otherwise space-themed game.  This isn't going to be Star Trek!

It took a couple of weeks to generate all of the different types of cards (four different types in all), the basic mechanics, and the additional rules for the cards.  Some off-the-cuff balancing occurred as I figured out a rough draft of the card layouts and the names of each card (193 unique cards with names!), and after two months, the first draft of the cards have been printed, cut, and sleeved.  I will be playtesting the game in the coming days.

As development continues, I may get more specific in the specifics of the game, especially when it comes to discovering mechanics that do or don't work.  But for now, as a development log, this looks more into the process of creation than the game itself.